


Putting The Dog To Sleep

by Mayamali



Series: M's Scarecrow AU [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, Drama, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M, Major Character Injury, Marriage, Near Death Experiences, Past Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romantic Friendship, Sequel, scarecrow au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 23:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11497317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayamali/pseuds/Mayamali
Summary: A few months have passed since Jamison's curse was broken. He and Mako are still figuring things out when a figure from Jamie's past comes back to haunt him.A sequel to "In A Field Where the Barley Grows". Now with a happy ending!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There was a comment in In A Field Where the Barley Grows mentioning that it seemed unfair that Jamie had to suffer so much while his tormentor got off scot-free. This was inspired by that.
> 
> On another note, if you haven't read IAFWtBG yet, please close this tab and go read that first. Otherwise nothing in here is going to make sense. Ta! <3

Jamison hummed under his breath as the barista pushed out two disposable coffee cups, steam pouring from the slits in the lids. “Two flat whites,” Hana chirped, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the counter. “Good thing Mako practically drilled how to make those into our heads, huh?”

“Yeah,” he replied, taking the cups with a wistful sigh. “Feels like just yesterday that I lost ‘im to the great big ranch in the sky.”

There was a snort from a nearby table, and Mako grumbled, “Quit telling people I’m dead.”

Jamie sniffled dramatically, shaking his head. “Sometimes I can still hear his voice,” he said, voice cracking.

Hana giggled and waved him off, and he took the cups to the table where Mako was sitting with a book. He’d gotten reading glasses a few weeks ago, and they were quite charming. Jamie made a point to take a drink from both cups before handing one to Mako.

“Thanks,” he said drily, taking the cup.

Jamie slid into his seat with a grin. ”Regrettin’ keepin’ me in your life?”

“Every damn day.”

It had been a few months since Jamie became a proper citizen of Tillsoll, and half of that had been living off the grid. He couldn’t very well go around with a track record that ended two years ago and included wonderful bits like ‘armed robbery’. Ana had helped with that, calling in some favors to get Jamie new paperwork and essentially nuke his old history from the government’s files on him. A clean, fresh start.

They’d stopped for coffee before heading to the city to get some parts for Mako’s bike. An animal had crawled into the engine over the winter and died. They dealt with the smell as best as they could, but they didn’t have the parts to fix it at home and the town’s mechanic didn’t have much experience with bikes, so it called for a trip to a friend of a friend.

In the meantime, though, Jamie hummed, staring thoughtfully at his companion. “So have you given it thought?”

Mako paused, swallowing a mouthful of coffee. He didn’t answer.

“I mean, you don’t have to say anythin’ right _now_ , I just...” Jamie trailed off, forcing a laugh.

“I need some more time.” Mako set his cup down and sighed, running a hand down his face. He looked exhausted; the weather was starting to turn to fall again, and the company Mako worked for was double-timing all their projects before the snow-pocalypse of Midwest winters. “Sorry.”

“No worries.” Jamie cleared his throat, drinking some more of his coffee. “So, uh. We just gettin’ bike stuff?”

“S’all _I_ need. Why?”

Jamie shrugged. “Dunno. Just feels like we spent all winter cooped up. We need to get out more!”

Mako grunted quietly in thought. “Go to that boba place you like, walk around a bit?”

“Windowshop.”

“Sounds good. Got nothin’ else to do today.”

“Right on.”

Cups drained and disposed of, they piled into the truck and set out. Jamie hummed along to the terrible 80s cassette playing; Hana had gotten Mako one of those cassette adapters for his phone, but Mako liked the classics. Jamie liked that about him.

They were stopped for traffic on a main street in the city when Jamie saw him. A brief glance at the people lined up to cross the street when one face stood out. Brown hair, blue eyes.

A curly bracket scar by his eye. The subtle arrogance of a man who knew he could beat you in a knife fight.

Jamie’s heart leaped up into his throat, and he leaned back, eyes widening. He could hear his heart thumping in his chest; a sound he still found himself getting used to.

“Jamie?” Mako had noticed, and reached out to touch his shoulder. Jamison could feel himself shaking, feel the lump in his throat get bigger.

He finally managed to choke out a single word: “Drive.”

The second they pulled up to the repair shop, Jamie threw open the truck door and stumbled to the nearest trash can to upturn all the contents of his stomach into it.

“Jamie,” Mako said again from behind him, reaching out to envelop his shoulder in his hand.

“I saw ‘im,” Jamie croaked, wiping his mouth on his arm.

“Who?”

Jamie looked up to Mako, eyes watering. “Scrapheap.”


	2. Chapter 2

There was a park nearby. Mako helped Jamie there, and they settled in the grass under a big tree. “You’re sure?”

“Curly bracket,” Jamie said weakly, staring at his hands as they rested in his lap.

“Fuck. What would he be doing here?”

Jamie shrugged, then paused. ”...We were near the bank.”

“Think he was reliving the glory days?”

“Or plannin’ another hit. I dunno. Everythin’ I thought I knew about the guy went out the window when he -” Mako held up a finger, and Jamie forced himself to take a breath as a jogger went by. “When he killed me. We gotta warn someone.”

“Did he see you?”

“Huh? Uh... probably not? We were a bit away and there was a crowd at the light.”

Mako sighed, then pulled out his phone. “We can leave a tip, just in case.”

Jamie said nothing, gnawing the bottom of his lip.

“What was he wearing? Remember how tall he is?”

“All I saw was a green jacket. Uhhh - oh!” Jamie snapped his fingers. “I remember havin’ to look down at him a little. So a few inches shorter than me?”

Mako nodded, putting the phone away after another moment. “Let’s not hang around too long, then. Let’s get the parts and hightail it.” Jamie nodded, taking Mako’s arm to stand.

They stepped into the shop, and Jamie just kind of browsed while Mako headed for the counter. The parts were easy to find and cheap - a discount of good faith, apparently. Mako had just opened the front door a crack before Jamie launched forward and slammed it shut again.

“Jamie -“

Jamie held up a finger and pointed out the window. Mako peered after him.

Scrapheap was leaned against a tree outside, looking just sketchy enough that people who were smart would keep a wide berth. Jamie’s eyes were locked on him, mind numb.

“Shit.”

“Everything alright, Mako?” The cashier had noticed Jamie’s episode, calling out to them from behind the counter.

“Yeah. Uh - you got a back way out of here? You’ve got some sketchy visitors out this way.”

She rolled her eyes and reached for her phone, gesturing to her left. “Employee exit - I won’t tell if you won’t. These kids _really_ need to get a hobby.”

Mako nodded at her and took Jamie’s hand, pulling him along. They managed to sneak out and cross to the parking lot, and Jamie immediately got in the truck, contorting himself into a position on the floor of the passenger side.

He heard Mako sigh after a long minute, climbing behind the wheel. “He’s gone, Jamie.”

Jamie didn’t move for a moment, but another gesture coaxed him up and onto the seat. He let out a shuddering sigh, going slack against the cushions.

Mako watched him, forehead creasing with wrinkles. “Drive-through at the tea place?”

Jamie shook his head slowly.

“Ok. Let’s go home then.” Mako turned the engine, then backed out of the lot and back onto the street. They’d gotten maybe 30 feet when Jamie spotted Scrapheap sauntering down the sidewalk, and... _something_ filled him to the brim, got his heart beating furiously in his ears.

“Jamie -!” Without realizing it, Jamie had reached over to grab the steering wheel and _yank_ it towards him with a snarl, the truck swerving towards the sidewalk. Mako managed to pull the wheel back towards the road, but not before they bumped onto the curb and came merely inches from where Scrapheap was standing.

“What the fuck?!” he heard him say, and he glanced up.

Time seemed to pause; they made eye contact. Scrapheap’s expression was one of mild terror, but mostly... annoyance. Slowly, it faded, his eyes narrowing as he tried to peer into the windshield at Jamie. Maybe he imagined it, but he thought he could see a glimmer of terrified recognition before Mako got them back on the road and gunned it.

“Jamie, what the fuck was that?” Mako yelled, knuckles white on the wheel.

Jamie sunk back into the seat, taking in a deep breath once he realized he’d been holding it. “I - I -” He looked at his hands, the way the flesh one trembled.

Mako smoothed his hair over. “Put on your belt,” he said quietly, but the anger was still there.

Jamie obeyed, fumbling with the lock for a second. They managed to get far away without hearing a siren on their tail before Jamie pulled up his feet, planted them on the dashboard, and leaned forward to rest his head on his arms. “I don’t know - I don’t know what just happened.”

“You just nearly tried to run someone over is what happened,” Mako retorted. He was still looking in the mirrors for any police cars.

Jamie sobbed. He tried to hold it back, but it just came unbidden from his throat at the tone of Mako’s voice. Eventually, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he slowly relaxed. Also the position he was in was getting more than a little uncomfortable, so he sat back up, eyes closed.

“We’ll get something to eat and head home.”

“Okay,” Jamie said. But he was quiet for the rest of the ride home, trying to decipher the weird storm of feelings settling in his stomach. Embarrassment, definitely; he’d just tried to run someone over after hiding like a scared animal. ‘ _Like a rat_ ’, he thought bitterly.

Bitterness was another one. Sure enough, that asshole that had ordered his execution was roaming free half an hour away from where he lived? Which led to the anger. He hadn’t been this angry since he’d attacked those kids in the corn field shortly after Mako had found him. His head had gone blank then, too; nothing but the urge to make someone hurt. It was an ugly feeling that completely took over him and he didn’t like it.

They’d moved to a little one level, two-bedroom house a little bit downtown shortly after Jamie had ‘rejoined society’, as he liked to call it. A lot easier to explain than ‘I was dead and got better’. Mako had set Jamie on the couch with a blanket and the remote to the television before going into the kitchen to make some tea.

He was a few minutes into an exposé on some African prosthetic company when there was a knock at the door. He threw off the covers with a groan and shuffled to the door.

There was a police officer on the other side, stern with blonde hair. She nodded at him. “S’cuse me, sir.”

“G’day,” Jamie said cautiously.

She gestured to the truck in the driveway, and his heart jumped a little bit. Shit. “Is that your truck?”

“Uh... no. Mako!” He turned to yell into the kitchen. “There’s an officer here for ya!” He opened the door a little bit wider as Mako emerged from the kitchen with two coffee mugs in hand. He handed one to Jamie and nodded at the officer.

“Sir, we received a complaint about this truck from earlier today. Do you mind if I just ask a few questions?”

Mako shook his head. “Not at all. Come in - want some tea?”

The officer paused at that before saying, “Uh - no, I’m alright. Thanks.” She stepped inside, idly taking a look around the living room before standing in front of the couch as Jamie and Mako sat down. “You were in Evansville this afternoon?”

“Yeah.” Mako rubbed the back of his neck, leaning forward. “Is this about that, uh... almost-crash we had?”

She nodded. “A man said you very nearly hit him. Luckily, he’s not pressing charges, but we’re required to follow up - especially for people who live out of the city.”

“It’s a bit of a drive out here,” Jamie said, raising an eyebrow.

“Like I said, you nearly hit someone. Was worth coming to look into.”

“Yeah. See, my friend here wasn’t feeling well,” Mako said, nodding to Jamie, who curled up further on the couch. “I was reaching to get a plastic bag in case he was going to be sick. Misjudged how far away it was.”

She looked between the two of them for a long moment before she wrote something down in a notepad and nodded. “Alright. Given that no one was injured and you didn’t hit anything, I’m gonna let you off with a warning.”

“Of course.” Mako glanced at Jamie for a moment. “Ah - the man who complained. He wasn’t injured?”

“No, just scared half to death.” The officer nodded at them. “Well, you two take care. Hope you feel better, sir.”

“Thanks,” Jamie said as Mako got up to show her to the door, waiting until the door closed to tell Mako, “She was nice.”

“Yeah. Could’ve been a lot worse.” Mako sat back down on the couch after locking the door, turning up the volume on the TV.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie said again quietly, drawing the blankets back up as best as he could without tipping over his mug of tea.

“What happened?”

“I just got... angry.”

Mako made a quiet noise of thought. “Well, he _did_ kill you.”

“And he needs to die.” After a moment, Jamie cleared his throat and sat up, adding, “I mean... _that’s_ what I was thinkin’. How unfair it is. I got to spend two years barely functioning and undead while he gets off scot-free? He gets to walk around out there like he didn’t ruin my life?”

Mako had reached over to settle his hand into Jamie’s hair, gently rubbing his thumb against his scalp. “It _is_ unfair,” he agreed eventually. “And I guess you never expected to see him again.”

“I mean... Evansville is a hell of a change from Australia. And especially after robbin’ the biggest bank in the city.”

“It’s okay. C’mon, let’s see if there’s anything else on.”

Jamie nodded slowly. “Okay.”

They settled on some crime procedural; Jamie had figured out the culprit of the episode five minutes before the cast did. When he’d rejoined society, Mako had been surprised at how _smart_ he was. He’d grown up taking things apart and putting them back together, and he could follow along with certain mystery stories decently enough - a gift of his.

When they went to bed, Jamie had trouble sleeping, so much so that he carefully lifted the sheets, pulled away from Mako, and went for a late-night walk. Tillsoll was quiet enough that he felt safe doing so, but as he came back to the front door, the back of his neck tingled, like he was being watched. Of course, looking around, he couldn’t see anyone else out and about this late at night, so he muttered to himself and went back inside. He wormed his way back against Mako and eventually his mind drifted off into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter, I just want to say something.
> 
> When I started writing this, it quickly took a turn that I wasn't expecting it to, and I've realized that a lot of what this fic is going to cover for the first 7-8 chapters isn't pleasant in the least. So before you continue, I just want to warn you that if abusive relationships, stalking, grievous bodily harm, and mental illness are triggers or make you uncomfortable, you may want to proceed with caution.

He woke up for just a moment that morning to Mako rolling out of bed, and he mumbled. Mako sat on the edge of the bed, turning to look at him. “I’m off.”

Jamie managed to grow coherent enough to say, “Don’t die.”

Mako snorted and leaned in to kiss his cheek, much to his delight.

He woke up again sometime around noon, and he fought with the covers for a moment before standing up with a stretch. He didn’t have a proper job just yet; Mako had suggested he work at the mechanic shop, but he couldn’t quite figure out a polite way of telling them his only experience was with building bombs and stripping cars for parts.

In the meantime, he kept the house clean - part of a promise he’d made to Mako a long time ago. Or, what _felt_ like a long time ago.

He yawned as he preheated the oven; he always preferred microwave dinners heated up in the oven. His ears pricked at the sound of the doorknob shaking, and he turned to look at it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he hummed and grabbed his lunch from the freezer as the oven beeped.

As he opened the oven door, he heard the front door open. “Home already, mate?” he called out, setting his lunch on the center. “Did they finally stop workin’ you like a dog?”

There was no response. Jamie closed the oven door and turned around to see Scrapheap standing in the entryway to the kitchen.

His heart stopped for just a second, everything going cold.

“Well, shit,” Scrapheap said after a moment of observing him. “Junkrat. Y’know, I could _swear_ I killed you.”

“Your aim was shit,” Jamie managed to say after a moment.

“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.” Scrapheap entered the kitchen, looking around like it was a gallery he was perusing. “Sure made a nice place for yourself, huh? Never thought of you as an arse bandit, though, ‘specially to a fossil like that bloke what was with you.”

“S’not like that.” Jamie was leaning against the counter. He couldn’t move. Scrapheap was in his house. His and Mako’s house. The house Mako had bought because he knew the farmhouse gave him nightmares because of what the man in front of him did.

“Right. Been doin’ alright for yourself, Junkrat? I mean, after I carved you and strung you up?”

“Been doin’ alright. Why’re you here?”

“Had to make sure. I mean, props to the gung-ho way you tried to make me a skid on the pavement, mate, really bold.” Scrapheap shot him a lopsided grin full of malevolence. “You were always pretty feisty. The prolonged eye contact got you.”

Jamie didn’t respond. Scrapheap had turned to look at him again, his hands in the pockets of his utility coat. “It’s been about three years,” Jamie finally said. “Why come back?”

“Well, y’know, that heist was just so fulfillin’, decided it might be time to make another withdrawl. The Junkers’ve been slackin’ a bit on that front lately.”

“What, what you split with what’s-‘is-face wasn’t enough for ya?”

“Oh no. I killed ‘im the second you stopped breathin’. Got it all to myself.”

“I wouldn’t say anythin’. I’m not gonna say anythin’.”

Scrapheap shrugged. “See, I _thought_ I knew that. Kind of made sure of it way back when. Now I’m not so sure.”

Jamie thought of all the weapons in reach. Mako’s shotgun was under the couch in the living room - no way he could make that. There were a bunch of kitchen knives, but they were in the knife block. Precious seconds he’d take trying to wrench them out could cost him. His metal arm could probably throw a decent punch if he could aim it right, but his limbs seemed unresponsive. He was fucked, plain and simple.

“’Course, I’m always willin’ to apologize for a mistake. This kinda posh life was never for you, Junkrat - though I doubt you could top the way we broke in last time. Still, you’ve got smarts.”

“No thanks,” Jamie said with a laugh. “Last bank job I did, some fuckers tried to kill me.”

Scrapheap watched him for a moment, then sighed, his shoulders bouncing. “Your loss, mate. It’s been real.” Before Jamie could even process what was happening, there were three loud bangs and the numbness subsiding for a blooming pain in his chest.

There was a pistol in Scrapheap’s right hand, the one he’d had hidden in his pocket. Jamie tried to push himself forward, but ended up going the opposite way instead, sliding down to the floor with his back to the oven. It was hot.

Scrapheap stepped forward, raising the gun again and leveling it to his head. Jamie just stared; his brain had stopped functioning properly at this point, still numb from both mental and physical shock.

There was another bang, but a different one, the kind of wood giving way under a foot. “Hey!” he heard a female voice say.

Scrapheap looked away towards the door, then looked back to Jamie for a moment before scrambling for the back door and disappearing.

A woman - Fareeha, Jamie remembered idly - entered the kitchen, starting after Scrapheap. But then she looked to the oven and saw him, and she swore and knelt down next to him. “Jamison?” she said; her voice was warbly, like she was underwater.

He tried to say something, but his brain was still functioning at minimum capacity.

Fareeha looked around for a moment, then he blinked and she was gone. Of course he’d made her up, some dying moment of hope. He could swear he heard her speaking in the next room, but possibly his mind was making something up. Either way, he was tired, and the oven behind him was warm. His eyes drifted closed.


	4. Chapter 4

He dreamed of a spire. A twisting sculpture of metal, with a man tied to the top of it. He was writhing and screaming and Jamie was holding something. A detonator. Someone said, “Blow it,” and his thumb pressed down on the bright red button and it was glorious, a burning flare of light that singed his eyebrows. He’d always stood too close.

The flare spoke to him, too; it asked him, “What chemicals are mixed to make composition B?”

And he said, “RDX and TNT.” Everyone knew that. But his voice wasn’t working right, and it came out like a mumble.

The flare asked, “What does TNT stand for?” Then it said, in a different voice, “Please hold on, Jamie.”

“Trinitrotoluene,” he said, but again, it was a mumble.

“What’s he saying?” Another voice said, something he couldn’t hear. “Stay with us.” “I need you.”

“What does ANFO stand for?”

“Ammonium nitrate,” he said, wondering why an explosion was asking him so many weird questions. “Fuel oil.”

“He’s crashing!”

And the flare grew brighter, then silent. And for a long time, it was quiet, a kind of tranquility that he couldn’t shake off.

Then there was beeping. He heard something move to his left, and he felt like he hadn’t moved in days. He tried to move his fingers; no response from his right hand. He had another vision, him reaching out to a bomb he’d thought was a dud before it flared. But this flare didn’t speak to him. It was silent, and then his arm was gone.

He tried his left arm and felt something pull under his fingers. Sheets.

”...amie?”

A voice echoed from somewhere far away. Amie? That was weird. What was that supposed to mean?

He tried to open his eyes and succeeded. It was dark, except for a light somewhere to his right. It didn’t blind him, thankfully. Everything was a weird, dull mint green.

“Jamie?”

Oh. Jamie. That made so much more sense than “Amie”. He sighed at his own stupidity and turned his head to see who was talking to him.

Mako was sitting there, reading glasses settled on his nose and far too much worry etched on his face. “You look like someone died,” Jamie wanted to say; it came out as more of a croak.

“You almost did.” Mako set aside his book and leaned in, pressing his nose and forehead against Jamie’s. It was some kind of thing from where Mako was from. He couldn’t remember what it was called, but it was important. Jamie wanted to touch him, but his arm wouldn’t quite work that well yet. “You were shot. They nearly lost you.”

“Oh, so that’s what that was. I _thought_ an explosion tellin’ me it needed me was weird.”

Mako didn’t even smile at that. That’s how he knew it was serious. “What happened?”

Jamie closed his eyes, scrunching his nose in thought. There was a dull ache in his chest. “Scrapheap. Picked the lock.”

“How’d he know...” Mako fell silent, then sighed, dropping his head into a hand. “He must’ve followed the cop. Fareeha heard the shots, called an ambulance.”

“That’s gonna cost a fortune,” Jamie said quietly, and he suddenly wanted to cry. He bit it back, though.

“Don’t worry about that now. You need to rest.”

“You’re gonna stay?”

“Took some time off. Told them family was in the hospital.”

Jamie reached out to take his hand. “I’m family.”

“Yeah.”

“You thought about it?”

“What?” It took him a minute, but eventually, Mako chuckled, and the urge to cry started to subside. “You wanna talk about that now?”

“There’s never really a right time to talk about it, is there?”

“Jamie - people are gonna expect things. Things neither of us want, remember?”

“Fuck ‘em.”

Mako squeezed his hand, shaking his head. “You’re hopped up. You need sleep,” he repeated.

Jamison watched him for a moment, then sighed, nodding slowly and his eyes drifting shut. When he opened them again, Mako was still in the chair, snoring softly as light filtered in through the curtains. Just their luck this hospital allowed overnight visitation. Jamie wanted to sit up and kiss his forehead, but when he tried, pain shot through him, and he groaned, settling back down.

The door opened, and Angela Ziegler came in, holding a chart. She stopped when she noticed he was conscious, and he held a finger to his lips. Her eyes drifted to the passed-out Mako sitting next to him, and she smiled, nodding. “How are you feeling?” she asked softly.

“Like I got shot?” Jamie offered helpfully.

“Well. I wonder why that would be.” She turned to his IV drip (and he just noticed then that there was an IV inserted into his arm). “How’s your pain? Scale of one to ten.”

He thought about it for a moment. The discomfort in his chest was turning into a burning sensation. “Six.”

She nodded, writing something on the chart. “The police are going to be coming in to ask you a few questions about what happened. I have to say, Jamison, this isn’t how I expected us to speak again.”

“I’m full of surprises.” Jamie grinned, but it was tinged with leftover discomfort. “I’d love to stretch.”

“It’s not a good idea for you to get up right now, but we can help you with that later.” Angela reached down to touch his cheek, running her fingers along his scalp. It was a surprisingly soothing gesture, and Jamie smiled in appreciation. “I’ll be right back with some more morphine.”

Sure enough, around noon, two police officers entered his room. Mako had gone to get coffee and take a little walk; sleeping in a chair all night had left him stiff. “Walk us through what happened,” one of the officers said, a cute boy who was probably popular in school.

“I woke up, went downstairs to make lunch -“

“What time?”

Jamie scrunched his eyebrows in thought. He was always bad at remembering time. “Closer to noon than eleven. Anyway. I heard someone fiddlin’ with the doorknob while I was waitin’ for the oven, didn’t think anythin’ of it.”

“The lock to your door was picked,” the other cop said, a bigger guy who’d eaten his fair share of donuts over the years.

“Yeah. Anyway - I heard the door open, assumed it was my mate, Mako. I turned around, saw the bloke, we chatted for a bit, and he shot me.”

The two officers wrote in their notebooks for a bit, muttering to each other. Finally, the older cop said, “You knew him?”

“Uh...” Jamie’s mouth went dry. They were going to look into Scrapheap, find him, find out what he’d done - but then again, no one had really known his name back then, had they? Or did they? Though even if they did, Ana had made sure his records were wiped, so was he worrying over nothing? “We’ve crossed paths before,” Jamie finally said.

“Any name you can give us?”

Jamie shifted in the bed with a groan. The morphine was helping, definitely, but it was still uncomfortable to move too much. “Scrapheap’s the only name I’ve heard.”

The officers paused at that. “’Scrapheap’?” the younger cop asked skeptically. Jamie just shrugged. “Alright, well, if this ‘Scrapheap’ is still around, we’ll find him. Ms. Amari already gave us a description, but if you could verify it...?”

“Brown hair, blue eyes, scar by his eye, looks like one of those curly brackets,” Jamie said.

The younger cop nodded, smiling at him in that curt way officers are trained to do. “Thank you, Mr. Fawkes. Rest easy. We’ll find the guy.”

Jamie just nodded as the cops left. Moments later, Mako came back in with Lucio and Hana in tow. “Oh my god, Jamie,” Hana said, launching herself forward to hug him. He hissed at the pressure on his chest, and she immediately pulled back, spitting out apologies faster than he could understand them. But she readjusted, and he was happy to hug her back. “Who would do this to you?” she asked as she pulled away, eyes wide.

“Old gang leader.” Jamie shrugged.

“You were in a gang, too?” Lucio asked, his expression bewildered. “How many of you people _haven’t_ been in gangs?”

“Junkers. The boss didn’t like I was still alive, considering he’s the one what killed me.”

Any questions that were going to be asked were silenced as there was a knock on the door, and Ana and Fareeha Amari stepped in. “Jamison,” Fareeha greeted, approaching the foot of his bed.

“Hey. Thanks for savin’ my life.”

Fareeha nodded solemnly. She still had a soldier’s stance; feet together, back straight, hands clasped behind her back. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“You gave us quite a scare,” Ana said, worming between Fareeha and Lucio.

“Sorry. Gettin’ shot wasn’t exactly on the to-do list.”

“It’s not gonna be on the to-do list _ever_.” Mako gave Jamie a look, and Jamie just kind of smiled wearily at him.

“I hope they get the guy!” Hana huffed, crossing her arms. “Before I do!”

“Please don’t kill a man for me, love,” Jamie said with a chuckle. “Ow.”

“If you’d like, I could help you reinforce your locks,” Fareeha said. “I thought this was a safe town, but I suppose you never know.”

“Thanks, Fareeha,” Mako said. “I think Jamie needs some time to himself right now.”

“Yeah. I appreciate the visit, though.” Jamie nodded to everyone in the room. “I’m bein’ discharged tomorrow. There better be balloons.”

Lucio laughed, leaning in to give him a hug. “We’ll see.”

Everyone shuffled out except for Mako, who settled back in next to him and took his hand. “If you don’t want to go back home right away, we could rent a room somewhere.”

Jamie shook his head, settling back down into a lying position. “Nah. It’s gonna be alright if you’re there.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Mako, you couldn’t’ve known he’d track me down.” Jamie was quiet for a moment. “He’s gonna come back.”

“Do you think? Those shots nearly killed you.”

“He’ll wanna be sure. Junkers’re thorough.” He moved his hand to tug Mako closer and carefully sat up to kiss his forehead. “Whatever. It’ll wait.”

“Sleep.”

“Mmhuh.” Jamie settled back down and let his eyes drift closed. He fell asleep to the feeling of Mako’s hand gently pulling through his hair.


	5. Chapter 5

Jamie stared blankly at the piece of paper attached to the front door of their house. On it, a simple image: his signature dead-eyed smiley face with the addition of a bullet shooting through it.

Mako tore it down with a growl and led Jamie inside. Fareeha had been good on her word, attaching a new deadbolt to the inside of their door. It did very little to alleviate the void settling in the bottom of his stomach. The story on the news was of his shooting, begging people to call the police if they saw Scrapheap. Mako went into the kitchen to make lunch - dinner? Some kind of weird in-between meal.

Jamie found the strength to change the channel to some kind of house-hunting show, but even then, he couldn’t sit still. He double-checked the new deadbolt, making sure it wasn’t too loose and couldn’t slip if someone pushed the door too much by pulling on the handle as hard as he could. It didn’t budge. He took a deep breath and forced himself back to the couch.

He found himself idly thinking that it’d be nice to be immortal again. He’d taken buckshot to the chest before and hadn’t even flinched, but now three little bullets from a pistol put him in the hospital? He buried himself into the cushions of the couch with an annoyed grumble. He heard Mako sit down next to him and looked up to see him with his arm outstretched, and Jamie carefully shifted to press into his side. “He knows where we live,” he said eventually.

“He can try me.” Mako squeezed him tighter.

Jamie didn’t get much sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the silent flashing of a muzzle. He thought he heard the floor outside the bedroom creaking or something crunching up the grass outside. When Mako was holding him, it wasn’t as bad.

He woke up, but he wasn’t in the right bedroom. Instead, it was the bedroom of the farmhouse, and Mako was gone. It was still dark out. He shuffled down the stairs; it was so quiet, but the back door was open. Mako was sitting on the swinging chair out back.

“What’re you doin’ out here?” Jamie asked, stepping outside.

“Because I could not stop for death,” Mako said. His voice was faint. “He kindly stopped for me.”

“What -“

Therre was a crash, like glass breaking, and then Mako’s head shattered, the fragments turning into thousands upon thousands of squirming maggots.

He woke up with a scream, clawing at his hair with his hand, feeling them crawling all over his skin. He barely felt arms wrapping around his shoulder, still caught in the image.

“Jamie - Jamie!” He finally stopped, taking deep, gasping breaths. Mako was looking towards the door to the bedroom. “Wait here.”

“Wait -” He tried to reach out and missed as Mako slid out of bed, grabbing the hand scythe from the wall. He couldn’t bring himself to follow, though, and instead curled up into the sheets as Mako listened at the bedroom door before opening it and disappearing into the darkness.

It felt like forever until Mako came back. He was holding something, something heavy. “Brick,” he said with disgust, dropping it at the foot of the bed. “Broke the damn window. What’s the point of that?”

“Scare tactic,” Jamie mumbled. “Let us know he’s still here.”

“Must’ve scared you.”

“Huh?”

“You woke up screaming.”

Jamie paused. The window breaking must have synced up to the crashing sound in his dream. “Yeah,” he lied. “Still jittery.”

Mako reached out his arm and Jamie immediately moved in to hug him. Mako pulled him in tight, resting his face in Jamie’s hair.

“He couldn’t kill me again,” Jamie said glumly. “So he’s just gonna make life hell until he gets another chance.”

“He’ll have to get through me.”

That was exactly what Jamie didn’t want to hear. He followed Mako to the garage, watching him grab a tarp so he could tape up the broken window, only able to offer to hold the tape and smooth out any creases while Mako called the police.

The young officer from the hospital arrived at their house about twenty minutes later.. “I’m sorry, we didn’t get any reports that he’d been seen in the area. It might be a good idea to fit you with a security detail, or at least get a patrol outside your house.”

“That might be a good idea,” Mako said. Jamie stared out into the little cluster of trees across from their house, trying to find _something_ that could help him point out where someone might hide.

A repair crew, some of whom worked were Mako’s own coworkers, helped fit in a new pane of glass the next day, and they ordered out pizza for dinner. “I have to go back to work tomorrow,” Mako eventually said. He sounded quiet and almost regretful. “Maybe you should stay with the Amaris while I’m gone.”

Jamie didn’t reply, tearing apart the crust of a slice. He hated the crust, but it gave him something to do. He hated being idle.

“Hey.” Jamie looked up after a moment to find Mako staring at him. He looked determined. “We got through Camille. We’ll be fine.”

Jamie eventually nodded slowly with a sigh. “Right.” Except he’d been immortal and infinitely more capable when they’d dealt with Camille. Now, he was painfully fragile. ‘ _In more ways that one_ ,’ a nasty little thought whispered.

Unfortunately, Fareeha was supposed to return to duty the next day, and Ana would be gone all day as well, so instead, Jamie spent the day at Hana’s - who, admittedly, was a _very_ good distractor. Jamie wasn’t big into gaming, but he had to admit, watching her participate in a tournament online was enthralling. She was so _good_.

He wasn’t completely on edge anymore when Mako picked him up and took him back home, even as Mako had him sit in the living room while he scoped out the house to make sure nothing else had happened while they were gone. “We’re clear.”

“Little victories,” Jamie said. He was actually feeling alright for the first time in almost a week. As they made dinner and settled in for the night, he noticed that Mako seemed more relaxed, too. That helped him even more. The worst part of all this was that Mako was getting caught in the crossfire. “I’m sorry, love.”

Mako paused at that, looking to him. “What do you mean?”

“All this business -“

“You helped me back then. I’m just returning the favor.”

“I’m tryin’ to tell you I appreciate you, you drip.”

Mako snorted at that. “You’re welcome, then.”

Jamie pounced him from behind, as well as he could with three healing holes in his chest, trying and failing to put him in a headlock. Mako easily tossed him off, laying back on his legs so he couldn’t move. “Cheater!”

“You started it.”

Jamie slept peacefully that night, something that he never would have considered a blessing before now.


	6. Chapter 6

The security detail came the next day. Mako was still required at work and no one was available to house Jamie while he was gone, so he was on house arrest. He quickly found that it was boring as hell; he just made food, watched telelvision, and took a nap.

“This is borin’,” he complained the second Mako returned from work.

“I’d rather you be bored than shot,” Mako grumbled, heading into the kitchen to make tea. Jamie went to the window to wave off the detail. The agreement was they’d only be around if Jamie couldn’t find someone else to stay with and Mako couldn’t stay home; he really doubted Scrapheap would try anything if Mako was around, considering that he could probably snap him in half like a twig if he really wanted to.

“Think he’s given up?” Mako asked as they got ready for bed.

“Nah. A few more days and he might, but not yet.” Jamie shrugged. “Junkers’re stubborn.”

“Lucio has tomorrow off, he said you could hang out with him while I’m at work.”

“Ooh, fun. Lu and I don’t get to hang out enough,” Jamie said.

“He’s warmed up to you.”

“I thought he was never gonna forgive me for throwin’ him in that closet.” Jamie grinned cheekily.

“He’s a forgiver.”

Jamie didn’t hear Mako leave that morning, so when he woke up alone, he couldn’t help but let it damper his mood a little bit. ‘ _God, you’ve got it bad_ ,’ said the little voice in his head.

He heard the back door slide open behind him as he was pouring some coffee into a travel mug and froze. It was too early for Mako to be back and he hadn’t heard Lucio’s moped pull up in the driveway - and both of them would have used the front door. He sighed and reached into the fridge for the cream. “If you’re gonna shoot me again, you should know I’ve got a mate comin’ by any second now.”

There was silence, then a short laugh. “I’m not gonna shoot ya,” Scrapheap said behind him. He heard a chair being pulled out, and he turned, stirring his coffee. “Not this time. Startin’ to think _nothin_ ’ will keep ya down.”

Jamie just shrugged.

“You’ve always been stubborn. Drove everyone crazy.” Scrapheap scratched his cheek.

“You gonna leave me alone now?”

“Not until you tell me how you survived back then. We did a number on ya. Startin’ to think ‘Cockroach’ would’ve been a better name for ya.”

“Still’d be better than fuckin’ ‘Scrapheap’.” He heard tires pulled up in the driveway, and Jamie sighed, pushing away from the counter. “There’s my ride. Can I ask ya nicely to leave?”

Scrapheap stood and stepped forward, standing inches away from Jamie’s face. “I don’t like leavin’ loose ends.”

“You can’t touch me, not with Mako here.”

Scrapheap chuckled, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “We’ll see about that.”

The dream-like tranquility that Jamie had had faded at this point, and his brow slowly creased in indignation. “You’re not threatin’ him now, are ya?”

Scrapheap shrugged, giving him a finger-gun - three times, actually - before slipping out the back door. Jamie stared after him, even as there was a knock on the front door, his hand slowly starting to shake.

“Jamie?” Lucio called in, opening the door a crack and peering at him. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Jamie took a deep breath and put the lid on his mug. “Just fine.”

They just watched movies, for the most part, but movies were always better when there was someone to talk to about them. Despite the distractions, something about Scrapheap’s words dredged up a feeling in Jamie’s throat. He tried to push it down; there was no way Scrapheap could take on Mako. He remembered the stories about who he used to be, the things he’d been capable of. Even if he put it all in the past, Jamie could remember the way he’d nearly bludgeoned him with a shotgun when they first met. He was capable.

Jamie let out a deep breath and tried to focus on the movie again.

But eventually, Lucio looked at his phone with a frown. “Huh.”

“What?”

“It’s - probably nothin’. Hold on a sec.” He stood up and moved into the kitchen, leaving Jamie on the couch. He could hear mumbled conversation from the kitchen, and the dread rose up in his throat again.

A solid five minutes passed before Lucio came back out with a smile that was trying not to look forced. “So, uh. How do you feel about stayin’ the night?”

Jamie stared at him. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Lu, please don’t lie to me.”

Lucio paused, then sat down next to him, letting out a deep breath. “Okay. Uh... Mako... got jumped at work. It’s not serious, but...”

Anything else Lucio was going to say just became white noise, Jamie staring absently at Lucio. Mako had been attacked. He just kept thinking of what Scrapheap had said that morning, the thinly-veiled threat. He should’ve done something. He should’ve _said_ something. But he was just so tired; just a few days of this and he was exhausted to the bone. ‘ _You’ve gotten soft,_ ’ a voice whispered.

He’d insisted on going to the hospital at first, but Lucio eventually talked him down, convinced him that things were fine and he should stay. He didn’t so much sleep as he did just black out for minutes at a time. Finally, he came around again to the sound of Hana’s voice, looking out the window. It was daytime now; early still, the light at a peak gold color.

”...parents are calling me every five minutes, they sent me here because it was safe. But now they’re seeing all this stuff about shootings and stabbings -“

Stabbing? Jamie sat up at that, slowly working his way up to stand, hobbling to the kitchen where they were talking.

“I know, Hana, it’s fucked up. I just feel bad for ‘em, y’know? First all that stuff with the curse and now the guy that murdered Jamie just walks back into town.”

Jamie made his way to the doorway of the kitchen, watching them. They were both sitting at the table, looking tired and anxious.

“I heard Mako didn’t get it too bad, though, they’re discharging him today - which is amazing, right? I mean, he was stabbed like five -” Hana looked up and saw Jamie in the doorway, straightening up and paling. “Jamie.”

Lucio turned around in his chair, eyes wide. “You said he just got jumped,” Jamie said quietly.

“I didn’t wanna scare you.”

“Too late, mate.”

Lucio stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s alright, though... Ana said she was gonna go visit him since he was getting discharged. If you want I could... ask her to drop by and pick you up.”

“Please.” Jamie nodded. Then he paused and sighed. “I... thanks for lettin’ me stay. I’m sorry I’m not a better guest.”

“Hey.” Lucio stepped forward to grab his shoulders. “You’re goin’ through a lot. Don’t worry about it.”

“This is all my fault.”

“You’re not _forcin_ ’ this guy to break into your house and shoot you, Jamie.” He pulled away to text Ana quickly. “You should try and eat something. I’ve got cereal.”

He managed to eat a little bowl of cereal before Ana arrived, and he was quiet, only offering Ana a meek ‘thanks’ as he slid into the passenger seat of her car. “How are you holding up?” she asked eventually as she turned onto the exit towards the hospital.

“I’m alive.”

“That’s all we can ask for sometimes.”

Mako was sitting up in his bed, getting dressed as the nurse showed them to the room. He paused as he saw Jamie, then downcast his eyes. “Few days bedrest and some workman’s comp,” he said with a shrug like those were supposed to gloss over why he was here in the first place. “Because the boss felt bad makin’ me come in with all this happening.”

“That was nice of him.” Ana took his arm and helped him down to the car.

Jamie buried his face into the back of Mako’s neck the second he sat down on the chair in the living room. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry, Mako.”

“It’s okay -“

“It’s not. He came after you because of me. It’s my fault.”

Mako put his hand on Jamie’s arm, falling silent.

“How’d he get the drop on you?” Jamie asked eventually.

“One of the guys said someone was trying to slash my tires. Went down to check it out, snuck up behind me. He was fast. But he won’t get me again.”

‘ _No_ ,’ Jamie thought as a dark feeling swelled up in his chest. ‘ _He won’t_.’


	7. Chapter 7

Jamie had a plan. He knew it was a terrible plan, honestly, but it was better than what they were doing now. Scrapheap had to pay for what he’d done, both past and present, and Jamie knew exactly what he deserved.

Mako slept a lot more thanks to the pain meds, so Jamie waited until he was completely passed out to slip the keys off the dresser. Mako had been giving him driving lessons - he had driven a few getaway cars before, but it had been a long time - but they hadn’t had time to get him a proper license, so he made sure not to speed too much.

He drove himself to the hypermarket and immediately took note that the self-checkout was working. Good. Otherwise, he’d have to make multiple trips so as not to arouse suspicion. It was amazing that so many basic, household ingredients could be used for what he was planning. He also bought himself some iced tea in a bottle; not as good as the real stuff, but whatever. He hid it all in his workshop, then went to help Mako with dinner like he wasn’t doing something incredibly stupid right under his nose.

As soon as Mako fell back asleep, he was in the workshop. It had been a long time since he’d built anything explosive, let alone a simple pipe bomb, but his hands worked on their own accord, like he was riding a bike for the first time in years. He used the night time to make a fuse. It was hard to justify why he was sticking threads in an oven if there was a chance Mako could wake up. As soon as they were done, he carefully crawled back into bed.

He watched Mako do housework during the day, making sure he didn’t overdo it and re-open his stitches. Mako was pretty stubborn sometimes, he’d come to find in the months they’d lived together, a man that refused to let age cripple him.

“I hope you’re not gettin’ stir-crazy in here,” he said as he carefully sat down on the couch. “We could see about going to the cafe.”

“Maybe,” Jamie said, pulling his feet up on the cushions. He was the only one allowed to do that, mostly because Mako had given up yelling at him not to. The news was doing another quick plea to turn in information about Scrapheap to the police. “I’m kinda tired, though. Maybe tomorrow.”

It took him two more nights to build the bomb to his liking; in the meantime, the only other move Scrapheap made was to pick the lock on the back door and leave it open while they slept. He idly wondered if Scrapheap had kept the plans he’d drawn for the explosives he’d used for the bank job; the other guy that had been with them marveled at them when he saw them, called Jamie an explosives artist.

Now it was just time to wait. In the meantime, he grabbed a piece of paper. In case things went wrong, Mako needed to know. This was proving to be the hardest letter he’d ever had to write, though; he couldn’t get one word in before he erased it and started over.

Eventually, he settled on ‘I’m sorry you got caught up in this. Love you.’ The magnitude of what he was planning hit him, then, and he had to take a minute just to take some deep breaths. If he messed this up, it could get him killed again. But it was the only way; Junkers were stubborn, and Scrapheap wasn’t going to leave him alone. Plus, he’d hurt Mako, the one person who actually gave a toss about him. ‘ _He’ll get what he deserves_ ’, said his thoughts, and he was inclined to agree.

He clenched his hand into a fist and made his decision. He filled a bag with duct tape, the bomb, and a lighter, and quietly slipped out the front door.

Within minutes, Jamie could hear footsteps behind him. He forced himself to breathe and made his way to an old movie theater, stepping down the alley between it and a gas station where he could hide and grab a discarded whiskey bottle.

Scrapheap turned the corner, peering down the alleyway suspiciously. ‘ _Follow me,_ ’ he prayed, watching as the other man looked left, then right, then behind him before finally stepping down towards him. Closer, and closer... as soon as he was in reach, Jamie jumped out of the shadows and cracked the bottle against his head.

He had to work quickly once Scrapheap hit the ground. Jamie tore his shirt up over his head, throwing it in a nearby dumpster, then placed the bomb against his chest and taped it down. “Get up,” he snarled as soon as Scrapheap started to push back against him. “Up!”

“What... the f...” Scrapheap felt his chest, felt the device put there, and turned his eyes up to Jamie in a glare. “’Rat, you son of a bitch -“

Jamie yanked him up by his arm, ignoring the sharp yell of pain. “Go.”

They walked for a long time. Jamie had forgotten how far it was; it always seemed like such a short distance in Mako’s truck. But finally, he saw the rise of the old farmhouse where they used to live against the sky, just a darker shade of black barely visible against the night sky.

“You got the drop on me,” Scrapheap finally said as they pushed into the cornfield. “Probably took it a little too far by shankin’ your mate, huh?”

“That’s not the half of it.”

“Why out here? You could blow me to smithereens on the side of the road.”

They stopped in a clearing, and Jamie steered him towards the post in the center of it. “You don’t recognize this place, do ya?”

“I can’t see a damn thing, mate.”

“This is where we came after the bank. Nice quiet cornfield, outskirts’a town.” Jamie watched him peering into the darkness; some part of his brain hated being here, but he knew it was where he needed to be. He turned him around, pressing Scrapheap’s back into the post and pulling out the lighter to hold in front of his chest as a warning. “This is where ya killed me. You weren’t wrong, Scrappy, I _did_ die.”

Scrapheap scoffed. “What?”

“Yeah. Turns out this place is a touch cursed. Die here, and you get reincarnated or some-such. As a bunny or somethin’ if you’re lucky.” Jamie leaned in. “I wasn’t lucky.”

“What’re you goin’ on about, mate? You’re alive right here.”

“Thanks to Mako. Before he came along, I was here for _two. Years._ ” Jamie spat the words, feeling anger boil up in his chest. “I didn’t even remember my bloody _name_ before he came along. Two years, I was a shamblin’ - _thing_.” Jamie shrugged, leaning back again. “Might as well return the favor.”

“Jamie, you’ve lost it, mate. I wasn’t fuckin’ with you _that_ badly, was I?”

“Die here, and _maybe_ you’ll be an owl. I’m hopin’ you get the star treatment like I did, meself.”

Scrapheap was squirming now, very clearly unnerved. It didn’t matter if he believed Jamie or not. He would soon. Jamie flicked the lighter, watching the flame blossom out; a little light in the darkness. “So you’re gonna blow me sky-high, huh? Kind of a shoddy job ya did there.” Scrapheap peered down at the bomb strapped to his chest. “Not as good as the other stuff you’ve made.”

“Ya didn’t let me keep my blueprints. But you deserve shoddy.” Jamie killed the flame of the lighter and punched Scrapheap in the stomach with his metal hand. That wasn’t part of the plan, he just wanted to see what would happen. Scrapheap doubled over, coughing as the air was knocked out of him. Jamie grabbed his hair and pulled him back up. “Last words?”

“Really? You’re just gonna kill me and leave it at that?”

“Not worth the effort for anythin’ more. You shouldn’t’ve gone after Mako.”

“Not my fault your boyfriend’s old’n washed up -” Scrapheap retched as Jamie punched him again.

There was a rustling in the stalks behind him, and he turned, ready to snarl a ‘begone’ to whoever stepped out into the clearing, but the words died in his throat as Mako pushed his way through, pausing to take in the scene in front of him. “Jamie?”

“Mako. Go home.”

“What are you doing?”

“Fixin’ a mistake.”

“Jamie, this isn’t right.”

“Yeah, Jamie,” Scrapheap said mockingly, earning another punch for his trouble, this time to where Jamie thought a kidney might be.

“You don’t get to talk to him, don’t _look_ at him,” Jamie growled, holding up the lighter again. “Mako, how’d -“

“Jamie, don’t do this.” Mako had stepped closer, but Jamie didn’t move, focusing on Scrapheap. “Come on.”

“He won’t stop, Mako!” Jamie finally managed to look towards Mako. “We all know it. This is the _least_ of what he deserves.” His mouth suddenly went dry, and he looked away again. “I need to do this.”

“No. You don’t. Jamie, you do this, and it’s over. The person you’ve become - you want to trade it back for the person you were?”

Jamie didn’t answer, so many thoughts clashing inside of his head. ‘ _Let him suffer_ ,’ said one; ‘ _Mako’s right_ ,’ said another.

“God damn, ‘Rat, you’re really whipped,” Scrapheap wheezed. “Lettin’ this fat bastard -“

Jamie didn’t punch him this time. Instead, he put his metal hand over Scrapheap’s mouth. “Don’t call ‘im that.”

“Jamie, just put the lighter down. Get that thing off him.”

“If I let ‘im go, he’ll kill us. Kill you.”

“I’m not gonna get taken down by some scrappy punk.” Mako snorted. “Give me some credit.”

Scrapheap tried to say something, but Jamie’s hand muffled it. This was so much better, so much more satisfying than the punching.

“You’ve got the power here. He sees that, unless he’s stupid.” Mako took a deep breath, coughing quietly. The cornfield had always made his lungs foggy. “What you’re planning - that’s what Junkrat would do.”

“Yeah,” Jamie said “It is.”.

“What would _Jamie_ do?”

Jamie paused. He knew what he’d do, what he was going to do, even before Mako managed to move next to him and pull the lighter from his hand. Jamie sighed and pulled his hand away from Scrapheap’s mouth down to his chest to roughly yank the tape off of him, catching the pipe bomb with his other hand.

Scrapheap yelled out at the sting of tape being ripped off his skin, watching Jamie as he stepped back and let Mako wrap his arm around his shoulders. “Get out. Don’t come back.” The Junker just stared for another few seconds before taking a few tentative steps away, then bolting into the brush.

Jamie let his head fall against Mako’s chest. “We’re dead.”

“Nope.” Mako hummed, staring after him. “Wait.”

Jamie furrowed his brows, then suddenly, an explosion of police sirens echoed through the air, startling him half to death. “What -“

Mako led him through the stalks to see three police cars pulled up in front of the farmhouse, lights flashing, and Scrapheap being roughly shoved into the back of one. They stayed just out of sight of the officers, but Scrapheap met Jamie’s eyes as they pulled away.

“But - I -” Jamie’s words died on his lips, lost to confusion. Mako gently took his shoulders and led him towards the road. His truck sat just a few minutes away, out of sight of the police and out of hearing range of the field.

“C’mon. Let’s go home.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The angst is over! Now, time for the happy ending!

Mako explained everything in the truck; he’d woken up, noticed Jamie was missing, and checked the workshop only to find the remnants of Jamie’s little bomb-building experiment and the letter he’d written. “I remembered what you said after we saw him in Evansville.” His voice was quiet, steady. “About how unfair it was. And I knew that if I were you, I’d want to return the favor. So I called the cops, left a tip that I’d seen him there.”

Jamie was numb. He’d very nearly killed a man tonight on some animal impulse of ‘kill or be killed’, and the only thing that had been able to stop him was sitting behind the driver’s wheel, acting like nothing happened.

“You know how to disarm that?” Mako nodded to the pipe bomb sitting in Jamie’s hands.

“Yeah,” he finally managed to mumble.

“Good.” Mako clicked his turn signal and pulled off the road, killing the engine. “Do it.”

“Got a knife?”

“Glove box.”

Jamie reached into the glove box for a utility knife and got out of the truck, moving a good distance away to carefully cut a hole in the casing, just enough that he could dump the powder inside onto the ground. Then, he tore it apart and threw it into the woods by the roadside.

Mako started up the truck again, and didn’t say another word until they got home. “You’re mad,” Jamie said quietly.

“No shit,” Mako replied, locking the door and crossing his arms. “But at least you’re alive so I can _afford_ to be mad.”

Jamie said nothing, lowering his head to wring his hands. He felt like a kid who’d just been caught sneaking out to smoke under a bridge with his friends.

“More importantly, Scrapheap’s gone.”

“It was that easy,” Jamie finally said. “That easy.”

“Seems a little stupid to strap a bomb to him now, huh?”

“Stupid like me. ‘M a fuckin’ idiot.”

“Hey.” Mako stepped forward and took him in his arms, and Jamie finally fell apart. He punched his fist against Mako’s chest and screamed, screamed louder than he ever had before; the scream that he couldn’t let out when Scrapheap shot him, when Scrapheap and the other bloke - Magpie, Jamie suddenly recalled - had found the hand scythe on the wall of the barn and torn him to shreds, every single moment when his voice had failed him. The scream degenerated to a wail, then a sob, then he was just crying, his forehead pressed against Mako’s chest.

And Mako just... held him, riding it out, even as he flinched when Jamie’s hands brushed over stitches and bandages.

Eventually, there was nothing left in Jamie, and he fell silent again save for the occasional sniffle. “It’s okay. Breathe. It’s over.”

When Mako finally pulled him away to check if he was still alive, Jamie grabbed his face and pulled him down to kiss him. Not on the cheek or forehead like he was so fond of; on the lips, one last nonsensical move. Mako was too surprised to react before Jamie pulled away, considering what he’d just done.

“I didn’t like that,” he finally decided quietly. “I mean, wasn’t bad. Too cozy, though.”

Mako snorted, a smile finally coming to his face. “Come on. Let’s sleep.”

It was dark outside when Jamie closed his eyes, and it was still dark when he opened them again. He still felt tired, but he was also starving, and Mako wasn’t in bed with him. He groaned and pulled himself up.

Mako was eating a microwave dinner while he sat on the couch and watched TV. He regarded Jamie curiously. “Sleep well?”

“How long was I out?”

Mako nodded to the TV. “News at seven.”

Jamie’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah.”

“No way I slept for twenty hours.”

Mako shrugged. “You’ve been through a lot. You should eat.” Jamie’s stomach growled in agreement.

“Breaking news tonight, a man that has been terrorizing the town of Tillsoll for the past week was finally apprehended last night by local police. Micheal Bolville -“

Jamie snorted. “Right. He had the stupidest real name.”

”- is thought to be responsible for at least four separate bank robberies in the United States alone, and has also been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.”

“That’s right. You guys robbed banks in Australia before coming here, right?”

“We had to get started somewhere.”

Mako sighed, shifting to set his empty tray down and look at Jamie. “I... Sorry I couldn’t help you more. I should’ve known you were hurting so bad, and I should’ve done more -“

“There was nothin’ you could’ve done, mate. He was tryin’ to fuck with me, and it worked.” Jamie touched his hand. “I... thanks, though. It would’ve been worse if you hadn’t...”

They were silent for a long moment, letting the gratitude hang in the air. Mako finally said, “You’re gonna get rid of the bomb stuff, right?”

“Yeah. I - yeah.”

“Never again.”

“Never.”

Mako pressed their foreheads together. “It gets better from here. Promise.”

“What would you’ve done if I’d lit that fuse?”

“I don’t know. Good thing you didn’t.”

Jamie smiled and nodded. Despite the near 20 hours of sleep he’d gotten, he was still tired, and slept through the night. The older officer came to their door for once, nodding to the both of them. “So, good news about your little friend. He’s being sent back to Australia to be tried there. Apparently he’s the leader of some gang, and they’ve been trying to get their hands on him for years now. We’ll keep up a detail for a couple more days, just in case.”

“Thank you.”

They watched him get back in his car and drive off in silence, the pregnant pause of ‘what now?’ resting on their shoulders. “Coffee?” Mako suggested. Jamie nodded.

“So that’s it?” Hana said, gawking at him from across the table. They’d caught her on her break, and while Mako left them to chat while he talked to Ana, she was already texting Lucio. “It’s over?”

“Yeah. No one else in the Junkers was involved in what happened with me, so we’re clear.”

“That’s so great, Jamie! Things might actually be normal around here for once now.”

“I’m a weird magnet.”

Mako came back over after a long few minutes, his coffee already finished. “Ready to head back home?”

“Yeah. Turns out nearly dyin’ leaves you knackered. We should have another party!” Jamie suddenly gasped, eyes wide. “’Congrats on not getting dead’!”

Hana giggled after a moment. “Hey, I think a party’s exactly what we all need right now.”

They said their goodbyes and spent the car ride home in silence. Mako took Jamie’s arm as they parked in the driveway. “Wait.”

“Yeah?” Jamie turned to look at him and was surprised to see Mako looked... embarrassed? “What’s up?”

Mako cleared his throat, silent for a long moment. “I - remember what you asked me? Before... all this?”

Jamie furrowed his brow. ”...’Can we make bikkies’?”

“That too. No, the other thing. The big thing.”

Jamie’s eyes widened slightly, and he laughed sheepishly, sinking into the seat. “Yeah, well, y’know me, the weird quota and whatnot -“

“Ask me again.”

“Huh?”

Mako wasn’t looking at him. In fact, he was looking everywhere _but_ him, which immediately made Jamie’s heart do a funny little thing. “Ask again.”

“Uh... Mako... really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Um.” Jamie looked both ways before remembering they were in a parked, locked truck with the windows rolled up. “I mean - and you don’t have to humor me here, it’s just a thought - theoretically...”

“Jamie,” Mako said impatiently.

“Okay! Uh. What would you think about, uh... gettin' married? Y’know, since we’re basically family already and  -“

“Yes.”

Jamie stuttered, then fell silent. His ears grew hot, pulse rising. “What? M-Mako - you -“

“I know.” Mako sighed, finally turning to look at him. “But that’s why I talked to Ana. She’s got a way of putting things in perspective.”

“You wanna - wait wait wait, I gotta ask this proper now.” Jamie wormed his way out of his seatbelt, taking Mako’s hand. “Mako Rutledge -“

“Oh god.”

“Shut up. You’re gonna sit here and honestly tell me you wanna marry my sorry ass?”

“Yeah. We both deserve a little happiness now, don’t you think?” Jamie tried to make more words come out, but they just wouldn’t. Mako actually smiled and asked, “Should I ask you?”

“Yeah,” he finally managed.

“Jamison Fawkes, will you -“

“Yeah,” he said again, a little too quickly.

”...Marry me?” Mako finished.

“Yeah.” He giggled anxiously, and was relieved to see Mako start to laugh, too, leaning in to press their foreheads together again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little worried about this next part being a major tone shift, but y'know what? These guys deserve it.

There was a small problem with a surprise engagement. Namely, neither of them wanted a ceremony, per se, but definitely didn’t want to settle for just getting the license and calling it a day.

“The party,” Jamie gasped over dinner. Mako looked up, eyebrow arched. “Hana and I were talkin’ about a party now that Scrappy’s hit the dusty trail. What if - surprise wedding!”

“Sounds tacky.”

“Shush! Just ask everyone to wear somethin’ nice, get some suit jackets, tie the knot right there. Soon, though, I’m bad at waiting a long time for things.”

Mako grunted. “Cake?”

“Damn right. Just a little one, though, I don’t wanna spend thousands on something we’re just gonna eat.” Jamie hummed, smiling widely. “Mako, I just - can’t believe you wanna do this. I know we’re not really touchy-feely -“

“Aside from the kisses.”

“I just like kissin’ you. But you wanna give it a go anyway.”

Mako shrugged. “You’re important to me.”

Jamie’s head was going around in circles now. They’d never outright said they loved each other before the note he’d left, but really, they didn’t need to. There was just a little glimmer of doubt, however. “You’re not just doin’ this to cheer me up from, uh...” Jamie gestured broadly at the room.

“I mean... kind of. But also just because it’d be a real new start. The kind we deserve.”

“Jamison Fawkes-Rutledge.” Jamie’s spine tingled just saying it, and he was delighted to see Mako pause in thought at that. “Right?”

“Yeah.”

“We don’t gotta have sex afterwards, right?”

“No.”

“Thank god - no offense, mate.”

Mako just grunted. but he had a little smirk. “Gotta get the license, first.”

“Right. We can do that... later? Oh, rings, too. Fuck.” Jamie had to stop and take deep breaths. He was getting over-excited.

“One thing at a time, Jamie.” Mako held out his hand, and Jamie took it.

They eventually decided to get the license the day of the party, which they settled for the end of the month. A wedding was expensive normally, but Jamie was dejected to find it still wasn’t cheap just because it was downsized. Mako didn’t seem worried, though, as they went to Evansville to pick out the rings. Simple bands, nothing fancy, but Jamie was still amazed that they could actually _afford_ this.

He was also quick to realize that he wasn’t having the nightmares anymore, at least not as frequently. Now, the only thing keeping him up at night was the vague suspicion this was a very, very vivid hallucination.

Jamie happened to see Angela leaving the coffee shop on his way to pick up some coffee and waved her down. “Angie! Hey! Got a second?”

“Jamison,” she greeted with a smile. “You seem well.”

“Yeah. For a lot of reasons. Um.” Jamie cleared his throat and spoke lowly, as quiet as he could on a sidewalk. “Mako and I are throwin’ a party in a few weeks. Think you could come?”

“I have to check my schedule -“

“We’re gettin’ married. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but figure you need a real excuse to play hooky.”

Angela stopped mid-sentence, blinking at him. ”...Oh. I... will request the day off.”

“Hope you can make it. Show our appreciation for your help.”

Angela looked almost touched by that, reaching out to give Jamie a friendly hug.

It was so hard to keep the wedding a secret. He wanted to yell it in the middle of the coffee shop. Mako seemed amused by the prospect of Jamie practically vibrating out of the laws of gravity and into the sun, except the moment he had pulled a suit jacket out of storage and stared wistfully into the mirror.

“Dashing,” Jamie joked, sneaking up behind him. His smile faded as Mako didn’t react. “What’s wrong?”

“I...” Mako sighed. “Last time I wore this was the first time I got married.”

“Oh.” Jamie paused in thought at that. Mako didn’t talk much about his family from before, but what little Jamie knew wasn’t pleasant. “Wanna forgo it? They make those shirts that _look_ like tuxes now.”

“No, it’s... it’s fine. Besides, we already bought yours. The whole point’s so we match.”

Jamie’s jacket was white and a little big for him, but like hell they were going to pay to get it tailored. A perfect contrast to the tailored but worn black jacket Mako was wearing. “Needs a flower in the lapel.”

“To reflect my cheerful personality?”

Jamie stuck his tongue out at their reflection, and Mako ruffled his hair in retaliation.

They got up early the day of the party to get the marriage license. Jamie couldn’t stop staring at it, seeing their names written in neat little script. “Christ.”

“Yeah.” Mako let out a deep breath as they sat in the parking lot of the park they were setting the party up at. “This is for real now.”

“This is excitin’. I feel like I could puke.”

“Wait until we’re out of the truck.”

They set up some food, trays and fresh-baked rewena paraoa (Mako’s lip always quirked up whenever Jamie tried to call it by its proper name, the way his accent muddied things up), and snuck up over a hill to make sure the arch and all the chairs were set up properly. Jamie’s heart did that weird skipping thing again. “Just gotta make sure no one comes up this way until we’re ready.”

“Should be far enough away from the actual festivities, but yeah.”

Hana waved them down as she and Lucio approached arm-in-arm. “Seems weird to ask us to dress nice for a picnic,” she said accusingly.

“What? Can’t we make somethin’ an occasion? Do we need an excuse?” Jamie said defensively.

“Whoa, Jamie! Down boy!” Lucio held up his hands in surrender with a laugh. “Glad to see you back to normal, anyway.”

“Yeah. Let’s try and keep it that way for more than a few months.” Mako nudged Jamie’s arm, and Jamie grinned.

“No promises, love.”

As more people came, Mako and Jamie went back over the battle plan. “Minister’s here at two?”

“Yep. Cake’s comin’ after that, right?”

“Shit.”

“Jamie -“

“Kiddin’! Yeah, it’ll be here.”

Mako put his hand on Jamie’s face and playfully shoved him. “Angela,” he heard Mako say as he recovered, turning to see Angela standing behind them, beaming at them.

“You made it!”

“Well, you’ve both already struck your quota for hospitalization, so I’ve found myself with some time to spare.” She laughed quietly at her own little joke.

“I could get shanked afterwards, keep you busy.”

“Jamie.” Mako gave him an exasperated look.

“C’mon, there’s plenty of food to go around.” He took Angela’s arm, smiling at the little giggle she gave him. All that was left to do was wait. As much as he loved a good party, though, he couldn’t wait for the next few hours to pass.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a wedding!

“Minister’s here.”

Mako had snuck up on him as he sat at a table with Hana, Lucio, and a couple of their friends - one of whom recognized him from last year’s Halloween party. “Seriously, those stitches felt so real,” she told him, letting her hair slip over her shoulder in a mildly flirtatious way before Mako leaned over his shoulder.

His heart skipped a beat. “Okay.”

“I’ll get stuff set up, you get everyone over the hill?”

“Sure thing.” He waited until Mako had started towards the truck to stand up and holler, “Okay, shut up, everyone!”

They all fell silent, and Jamie very nearly was at a loss for words. It was hitting him all at once that this was happening.

He cleared his throat. “Well. Just wanna thank all you folks for comin’ to this little shindig. Now, you might’ve been thinkin’ this was just a regular ‘congratulations on not bein’ dead’ party.” That got a few chuckles from people, which helped him relax. “But! There’s a twist! If all of you could just sorta leisurely make your way over this hill, we’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Jamie,” Hana sang anxiously as everyone slowly got up to start following his directions. “What’s going on?”

“You’ll see. Go.” While everyone headed off towards Mako, he slipped away to the truck to slip on his suit jacket. He checked himself in the side-view mirror and stopped, taking a deep breath. His hand was shaking, so he went slow with attaching the little apple blossom Mako had given him last night as a boutonnière.

He forced himself to try and relax, heading back up towards the hill. Everyone was seated now, and Mako was standing under the arch with his suit jacket on, looking up at him. Jamie gave him a thumbs up, and he nodded.

“First of all,” he started, addressing the crowd; his voice was a little quiet, an indication he was just as nervous. “Thanks for coming. So you’re probably wondering what this is.” He gestured behind himself, to the arch and the minister standing just behind it with a patient smile. “Well, at least some of you - I know there’s at least a few people here that have seen a wedding arch before. So yeah - you’re at a wedding. Surprise.”

There was an excited rise of murmurs and laughs from the crowd - he could barely make out Hana kind of freaking out, waving her hands in front of her face excitedly, and he snickered.

“So, uh. Jamie. Get down here.” Mako gestured for him to approach, and everyone turned to look towards him. For a long, long moment, his legs refused to work, and he just kind of stood there awkwardly, his palm sweating and his heart beating in his ears. Finally, he forced himself to take a deep breath, and strolled down the hill with a confidence that he hoped people couldn’t tell was fake.

Hana swatted his leg as he passed, and he gave her a finger-gun. Mako held out his hand as he approached, and he took it, standing across from him.

“Well,” the minister said brightly behind them, addressing the crowd. “Mako here stole my job for a moment there - I’m Pastor Abigail, and I’m honored to have the privilege of officiating the union of Mako Rutledge and Jamison Fawkes.”

“Woo!” Lucio whooped. Jamie barked out a laugh before he could help himself, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Thank you.” Pastor Abigail continued on, saying something about turning off cell phones and why marriage was so important, but Jamie just kind of vaguely listened, instead staring at Mako’s shoes. He knew that if he looked up, he’d start giggling like an idiot at the adrenaline rushing through him.

“Mako Rutledge.” Jamie finally looked up at that, but he still couldn’t look at Mako, instead focusing on the minister. “Do you take Jamison Fawkes to be your partner? In the presence of friends and loved ones, do you vow to support him, in times of sorrow and joy, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

Jamie looked at Mako from the corner of his eye and held his breath as he saw Mako looking directly at him. “I do,” he said.

Jamie couldn’t hold back another laugh. “Sorry.”

“Jamison Fawkes,” Pastor Abigail said, clearly amused by his inability to suppress his anxiety. “Do you take Mako Rutledge to be your partner? In the presence of friends and loved ones, do you vow to support him, in times of sorrow and joy, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

Jamie inhaled deeply. “I do,” he said, surprised at how steady his voice sounded now.

“If the couple has any vows they’d like to share, now is the time.”

Jamie raised his eyebrow as Mako slipped a sheet of paper from his pocket. “Seriously, mate?”

“What?”

“You said no vows, you made me promise!”

“I lied.”

Jamie stared at him, then scoffed, reaching into his own pocket. “Well, lucky for you, I lied, too,” he said as he pulled out his own slip of paper, to the laughter of everyone else.

Mako rolled his eyes and looked down to his paper. “Jamie,” he started. “I’ll be honest, a year ago, I never could have imagined being here. I never imagined having a nice house, a good job, and someone like you to wake up to.” He shifted on his feet; Jamie could see his cheek just slightly red, and it was charming. “I told you once that you reminded me what it was like to have fun. We’ve been through a lot together, but that’s still never been more true. You’re my best friend, my confidant, and I’m... so grateful that you’re in my life. I promised you things will get better from here on out, and I vow to uphold that promise.”

“Jamison?”

Jamie had closed his eyes tight in a desperate attempt to keep from falling apart in front of everyone. “Well, way to get the waterworks goin’, mate.” He sniffled and looked up, letting out a sigh and unfurling the paper in his hand. “Okay. Uh... okay. Mako, I was surprised as anyone when I asked if you wanted to do this. I’ve never really been a commit-ful type. But, uh, what we’ve got is special. Before you, I just kinda coasted along, but you - you make me wanna be better. And I’m gonna. I’m gonna be better, because that’s what you deserve. No more craziness. Also, I’m still expectin’ you to make bikkies for me once a month.”

Everyone laughed again, and he glanced out at the crowd. Hana was trying not to cry and failing miserably, and Lucio just kind of had his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. Angela exuded pride towards him, and he gave her a nod of acknowledgment.

“Do you have the rings?”

Mako pulled them out of his suit jacket, handing one to Jamie. He had a white carnation pinned to the lapel of his jacket, Jamie noticed with a smile.

“These rings represent a visible, external declaration of a bond, the kind that unites two people on a level that words can only begin to explain. But they also serve as a reminder of the vows that have been exchanged here today. Bless the couple who now exchange these rings, that they live in harmony and unity forevermore.” Pastor Abigail nodded to Mako, who reached out to take Jamie’s hand.

“Jamie.” Mako paused for a moment, clearing his throat. Jamie realized he was choking up, which didn’t help his struggle to keep his cool in the slightest. He gently pushed the ring onto Jamie’s finger. “I give you this ring that you may wear it as a reminder of my love for you.”

Jamie nodded slowly, unable to hold back a sniffle as he took Mako’s hand and did the same. “Mako, I give you this ring that you... that you may wear it as a reminder of my l... my love for you.”

Pastor Abigail nodded, reaching out to pat Jamie’s shoulder. “If anyone has any reasons why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

There was silence from the crowd. Jamie looked out and shouted, “Yeah! That’s right!” It was more to distract himself from completely falling apart, but everyone, even Mako, got a chuckle out of that.

“By the power vested in me by the state of Indiana, I now pronounce you married. You may seal your vows with a kiss.”

Jamie laughed frantically and practically launched himself up to wrap his arms around Mako’s shoulders and kiss him on the lips for the second time since they’d met. It felt a little better than the first time, mostly because he wasn’t riding the shame of committing almost-murder this time. Mako just barely caught him, stumbling backwards to cheers and applause.

Jamie punched a fist in the air and pulled back to yell, “Okay! Everyone back to the food! Cake’s comin’ up!”

They had to sign something quickly while everyone filed back to the initial party site, some kind of registry thing that got taken along to the reception for witness statements or whatever. Jamie’s handwriting was sloppier than usual, and the second Pastor Abigail left them along, he threw his arms around Mako again, clinging tightly.

“You okay?”

“I -” Jamie shook his head, letting out a shuddering breath. “Holy shit.”

Mako hugged him back. “Just wait ‘til we’re introduced. You did good.”

“I was half-ready to fall apart up there. You’ve never used the L word.” He could feel Mako tense up, then quickly added, “I mean, I know you’re not that kinda person, you don’t really _have_ to say it, it just - made it real.”

“I’ll work on that. Ready to get some cake?”

“Yeah.” Jamie pulled away and took Mako’s hand with a grin.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Pastor Abigail said as they approached. “Let’s offer the warmest applause for the newly-wed couple, Mr. Mako Rutledge and Mr. Jamison Fawkes-Rutledge!” Jamie was sure he was beet red at the applause that echoed through the park, but Mako’s hand squeezing his kept him from dying on the spot.

Hana and Lucio immediately swarmed the both of them with hugs, then Hana punched Jamie’s shoulder. “You jerks! Why didn’t you tell us you were getting married?!”

“It just kinda... came up?” Jamie shrugged sheepishly with a grin to match.

“We woulda got you something if we’d known,” Lucio said. “Seriously, guys. Congratulations.”

Jamie nodded at him, then clapped his hands together. “Okay! Cake! I’ve got some rules, folks,” he announced loudly, holding out his hands. “Grooms get the first pieces, but I wanna make a special claim, okay? Third piece goes to someone that’s important to us. She’s kinda the one that brought us together, so _none_ of you bastards are touchin’ this cake before Angela Ziegler does, y’hear?”

Angela laughed at that, covering her mouth demurely with a hand.

It was pretty good cake, Jamie mused; not bad for the price, at least, and barely big enough to feed everyone, but that’s what they’d been aiming for.

“Mr. Rutledge,” Ana said playfully as she approached them. “Mr. Fawkes-Rutledge.”

“God, I ain’t never gonna get used to that.” Jame swallowed the cake in his mouth and grinned.

“So this is what you were asking about a few weeks ago.” Ana pulled something from behind her back, holding out a small box with her right hand. “I had a feeling, so I got you something.”

“Ana,” Mako said, taking the box with trepidation. “Thank you.”

“I know how happy you make each other. _Alf mabrūk_.” She opened her arms, and they both hugged her tightly.

“We _are_ buying you presents,” Hana promised, making an x-shape over her chest. “Cross my heart.”

“Well, I’m not gonna say ‘no’ to free stuff.” She thwacked him upside the head. “Hey! You can’t assault me, I just got married!”

But soon, the cake was all gone and there were just scraps left of the food they’d brought, and people started to trickle out. Angela approached as they started to clean up, holding a little box of her own. “I was planning to give you this, anyway,” she said, holding it out to Jamie. “To celebrate how far you’ve come in the past year. You can open it now.”

Jamie carefully pulled off the top of the box, and inside was a necklace, a glass dome filled with golden stems of some plant attached to a gold chain. “What is it?”

“Wild barley. I harvested it from the cornfield where you were found.” Jamie looked up at her, eyebrows raising. “Don’t worry, it’s not cursed. I thought it might be a good reminder of your progress.”

Jamie set the box down, picking up the necklace and stringing it around his neck. “Thanks, Angie. I think it will.”

She offered both of them one last hug. “Do you need help cleaning up?”

“I think we’re good. See you around, Angela.”

It took them about half an hour to get everything cleaned up; they’d rented the chairs and arch, so it was mostly just picking up leftover garbage. “So, how do you wanna wrap up the night?” Jamie asked as they piled back into the truck, admiring the ring on his finger.

“Glass of whiskey, some TV. I gotta go back to work tomorrow.” Mako rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sounds good. The TV, anyway, not really a whiskey kinda guy.”

“Why did I marry you again?” Jamie punched his shoulder.

It just felt like another ordinary night once they got home. Mako opened Ana’s present and hummed thoughtfully, pulling out two bracelets and a little slip of paper. One bracelet had blue beads except for one black one, and the other was the opposite, primarily black with a blue bead. “’So you carry a piece of each other wherever you go’,” Mako read while Jamie slipped the blue bracelet on.

“Aw. Cute.”

Jamie took off the necklace and set it carefully on the nightstand before rolling over to wrap his arms around Mako’s waist from behind.

Mako grunted. “’Night, husband.”

Jamie giggled, pressing his forehead against Mako’s back. “Not ever gonna get used to that. ‘Night... husband.”

He met with Ana for coffee at the coffee shop the next day, wearing the bracelet she’d given him. “I really am happy for you,” she said with a smile. “Mako deserves someone like you in his life.”

“Hope I can live up to your standards.” Jamie grinned, drinking his flat white. “We’ve both been through a lot, but I think it’s gonna be okay now.”

“I hope so.”

They both stared out the window for a moment, watching the cars go by and the leaves slowly fall from the trees. “Yeah,” he mused. “It’s gonna be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends the Barley/Dog saga. I wasn't expecting it to take this turn, but I'm glad it did. I rarely write end-game, self-indulgent fluff like this (this is actually the first time I've ever written a wedding scene!).


End file.
